1/21/2008 12:52:00 pm -
Reported by
Josiah Rowe

People

Hello! magazine's readers have voted David Tennant the third most attractive man, after Sean Bean and Hugh Laurie.

Catherine Tate spoke to the Toronto Star about her comedy series and her return to Doctor Who as Donna Noble. "What's great about doing Doctor Who is that it has a narrative, so it means that I can approach it more as a straight acting role," says Tate. "It's just nicer to have a story arc that lasts longer than, like, four minutes."

Contactmusic.com quotes Russell T. Davies as saying that being gay helped give him "an edge" over other aspiring writers.

Eighth Doctor Paul McGann was one of the celebrities on hand for the official opening of Liverpool's year as the European Capital of Culture, reports theLiverpool Echo.

And Johnny Depp has denied rumors that he was seeking a role on Doctor Who, reports Teletext. (The story is no longer available on Teletext's website.)

Torchwood

Several news sources have published reviews of Torchwood's second series debut, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang". These includeThe Times ("good, salacious knockabout fun"), The Times again ("funny, fast and daring"), The Daily Telegraph("leaden gags" and "a fantastically ungripping plot") and The Guardian ("parts of it were very, very funny").

An article in The Sunday Times about the state of children's television in Britain quotes Russell T. Davies and notes that while television labelled as being for children is suffering, "family" programming like Doctor Who is thriving. Another column points to the success of Doctor Who as a model for adapting classic adventure novels to the screen.

Indeed, Doctor Who is such a success that BBC bosses are looking to apply its lessons beyond the realm of drama. In an interview with The Guardian BBC director general Mark Thompson used Doctor Who as an example of the sort of "creative energy" which the BBC should use in political coverage. Covering Thompson's remark, the Belfast Telegraphsuggested that BBC reporters covering Northern Ireland might already feel like time travelers.

Young Doctor Who fans in the Midlands can participate in a craft competition at the Stourport Library in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire. There are three age groups for the competition: ages 5 to 7, 8 to 10 and 11 to 13. Entrants can color a Doctor Who picture (available at the library) or make a Doctor Who-themed model. The Kidderminster Shuttlehas details of the competition.

The Doctor Who Up Close exhibition in Cardiff will be adding costumes from "Voyage of the Damned" to its collection, reports the Western Mail.

A columnist in The Scotsman notes that "apart from reality shows and similar swill, Doctor Who is the only programme that brings the nation together simultaneously: ironic, given that the Doctor is a Time Lord."

Technology website The Register describes a small flying robot being developed by the US military as a "proto-Dalek".

Doctor Who news shows up everywhere these days. Materials Handling World has a short article about the forklift featured in "Voyage of the Damned". No matter what your field is, there's nothing like a Doctor Who story to spice up your trade news, eh?

And the South Wales Echo has a story about a dad who built his kids a five-foot TARDIS replica to keep their toys in. Bless.